Harry Potter and the Tribe of Five
by Otori
Summary: Harry's sixth year where Harry finds what it is like to really truly fight back against Voldemort's forces, but will he learn enough in time to fight Voldemort himself?
1. I

Harry Potter and the Tribe of Five

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and most characters mentioned in this story belong to JK Rowling. The Tribe idea's belong in most part to Lian Hearn.

Summary: Harry's sixth year where Harry finds what it is like to really truly fight back against Voldemort's forces, but will he learn enough in time to fight Voldemort himself?

I

It was the third day in of an ordinary summer, and on the ordinary street of Privet Drive sat an ordinary house, in the house was extraordinary boy, he went by the name of Harry Potter.

He was gazing out over the rooftops of the over houses on Privet Drive waiting for his owl to return from her nightly hunt, he sighed and looked to the sky above Little Whinging, the stars were glittering a centaur would probably tell him that mars is particularly bright tonight but he wouldn't know where it should be in the sky.

Sighing again he closed is eyes and immediately shook his head to clear the thoughts of the past week from his mind. It started in his final O.W.L exam where he had seen a vision of Voldemort torturing his godfather; Sirius Black, not wasting anytime after the exam Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley all went to the Department of Mysteries to try to save Sirius from Voldemort.

It had been a trap, which had got all of his friends injured, and eventually led to Sirius' death, he had been killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, hit by a curse that sent him through a veil, Harry of course tried to save him but the strong grip of a werewolf stopped him from doing so.

His sharp eyes caught moonlight dancing in the distance, soon he could make out the flapping of snow white wings, Hedwig had returned from her hunt. She was soon gracefully flying through the window and into her cage and started greedily drinking the water that Harry had left in a bowl for her.

He watched the owl with rapt attention, with nothing else to do it was his only entertainment, most summer holidays he would have essays and projects to complete for his studies at Hogwarts, but as this was the summer before his last two years of study at Hogwarts, there was no work given out because the school did not know which subjects any of the students would choose.

He softly closed the door for Hedwig's cage and got under the covers on his bed, he switched off his bedside light and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

Harry woke the next morning by a rough shake, and before he had opened his eyes he had whipped his wand out from under the pillow and had it pointed in the face his attacker.

"Wotcher, Harry!" Said his Auror friend Nymphadora Tonks, Harry groaned and put his wand down on the bedside table and swung his legs over the side of his bed.

"What're you doing here?" He asked accusingly of the young Auror, her hair was a sickly green and she had finished the look with a bright orange Weird Sisters shirt.

"Bringing you a message," She said as she began to unroll a piece parchment she had been carrying, theatrically bowed and handed Harry the letter, "See you later Harry." And as soon as she had appeared, and woken him, she Disapparated, a very confused Harry looked down at the parchment in his hands.

_Harry,_

_As part of our conversation last week I explained many things to you, many things I should have told you from the very beginning, there is one more thing that I need to tell you however it will not be until the beginning of your new term, please Harry, do not dwell on what I may or may not tell you, move forward one day at a time and make sure you come back to us in one piece, I will come to collect you on the 31st of August and bring you straight here to Hogwarts._

_I hope you will use this time that you spend at your family's residence to recuperate, you know that is what Sirius would have wanted, I should say is that Sirius would have wanted a lot to never happen. _

_This afternoon you will receive two visitor's that will stay with you for the remainder of the summer, I have not forced anyone to do this, however I posed the question to your friends and they were very reluctant, however eventually Ginny Weasley volunteered to come along even though she was not originally asked to do so, along with her will be Dobby, he asked me directly on your final day of term if he could be released to serve you. I of course obliged. I asked someone to spend the summer with you Harry, so that you would never be alone, and hopefully have a somewhat normal summer for a change, despite being kept in your room all the time._

_Ginny is a strong young girl Harry, and remember, she has been used by Voldemort as well, while I had hoped that Hermione or Ron would have accepted, it seems that Ginny was the only one other than Tonks or Remus, that wished to help you, I would gladly have sent the other two, but they are needed here at the order._

_The Dursley's will be oblivious to this arrangement as Tonks was instructed to place a complicated charm that will ward off all visitors to your room, a charm that's not unlike the one used for the Quidditch World Cup two years ago. While this charm is in place, you may not leave your room, Dobby will bring a tent that will have a kitchen and bathroom for you to use, you must stay in your room._

_Harry I want you to know that I care for you a great deal, not just because of Sybill Trelawney's and what it may mean for our world, but you have grown into a fine young man despite all the hindrances I placed on you thinking it would help you, and in doing so Harry I feel that I have considerably stunted your magical growth, I would like you to think about taking some extra classes that I myself will take you for when you return to Hogwarts. _

_Please forgive an old fool who believes he has all the answers Harry, I fear that I may have made yet one colossal error, I misjudged who you were as a person, I too often see you as a 11 year old child that I first met all those years ago, not as the man you have grown to be._

_We are all thinking of you Harry,_

_Albus Dumbledore._

Harry sat in shock, and after re-reading the letter twice more, he dropped the letter on the floor and stood up, a rage building up inside him, _who does he think he is!_ After he had promised Harry that he was going to tell him _everything _when they had talked in his office at the end of the term, he had gone and lied to him all over again, Harry was getting sick of being treated like a little child. How Dumbledore could send someone here to live with his family, especially since they were likely to throw him and Ginny out of the house.

And who is Ginny to come and stay with him, he barely knew her at all, throughout the time Harry spent at the Burrow she barely spoke to him and he never really spoke to her except when it was polite to do so. Why couldn't Ron or Hermione come to spend the summer with him, at least with Ron he could have fun with his muggle family, and he could talk to Hermione about all the problems he was having.

A part of Harry calmed as the last part of the letter flashed through his mind, was it maybe too much for him to be so angry with his headmaster, if he couldn't trust Dumbledore, who could he trust. He sighed in resignation and began to clean his room.

After a half hour of cleaning, Harry started to read an issue of the Quibbler that Luna had given him on the train on the return trip from Hogwarts, he was reading a notice that the Quibbler would not publish for the next two months as the editor would be on expedition, Harry chuckled quietly to himself and got lost in the magazine.

A time later in the day Harry was shaken out of his thoughts by a soft, but unmistakable, pop in his room, he whipped his wand off his bedside table and pointed it at the noise, but he saw no one, he looked around the room but he still didn't see the source of the noise.

"Harry Potter Sir." Said the excited house elf, Dobby, Harry quickly lowered the wand when he saw Dobby's eyes widen in shock.

"Sorry Dobby." Harry mumbled at the house elf.

"It is okay Harry Potter, I is just telling Harry Potter that Dobby is here now to look after Harry Potter." Said Dobby as he bounced around the room.

"Do you know when Ginny is getting here Dobby?" Harry asked looking at the clock, which no read that it was well after the time that Dumbledore said that Ginny would be arriving.

"Miss Wheezy will be here after Dobby, Miss Wheezy was being shouted at by Harry Potter's Wheezy."

"By Ron?" Harry asked shocked, why would Ron be yelling at Ginny, _he's probably not too happy that she's spending her entire summer here with the muggles._

"Yes sir! By your Wheezy." Dobby said, obviously happy to be hear, Harry suddenly remembered what Dumbledore had said about Dobby in his letter.

"Er... Dobby, are you still a Hogwarts elf?"

"No, Dobby is free again, Sir, but Dobby hopes he can become Harry Potter's elf, if he wants Dobby, sir!" Said Dobby as he looked embarrassed at the floor, surely it wouldn't hurt to have an elf and he could go out and get anything Harry might need, but what would Hermione say, _stuff Hermione._

"Of course Dobby, I'd like that, but you have to work for me under the same conditions you had at Hogwarts, do you understand?"

"Oh yes Harry Potter, anything! Now I must get Miss Wheezy's room ready, sir!" _Where was Dobby going to set up Ginny's room_, Harry wondered, but as he watched Dobby get to work he snapped his fingers and a pouch appeared for Dobby on the ground, Dobby snapped his fingers again and a small tent appeared where the pouch had recently been, it was a tent similar to what Harry had slept in when he had seen the Quidditch World Cup two years ago.

"Dobby, now that you work for me, would you be able to bring me things from the wizarding world?" Harry asked when he remembered one of his reasons for allowing Dobby to become his elf.

"Oh yes Harry Potter Sir, anything that you is needing Dobby can get it for you!" Squealed the over excited house elf. Harry let a smile grow across his face at Dobby's obvious excitement. "Dobby will go now Harry Potter sir, call Dobby if you is needing anything." And with another small pop, Dobby was gone.

And before Harry had time to sit back down on his bed a blur of red and brown suddenly formed into the shape of one Ginny Weasley sitting her trunk in the middle of Harry's bedroom.

"Hello Harry." She said softly, Harry struggled to hear her even though there was no other sound in his room," she stood up and looked around his room.

"Hey Ginny," He replied, he picked up her trunk, "should I put this in the tent for you?"

"Yes, please Harry," he doubled over to fit into the tent, amazed at what he saw, a kitchen that was roughly the size of the Weasley kitchen at the Burrow, it was small, but even so, it was inside a tent! He also saw to doors at the other end of the kitchen that he figured would lead to a bedroom and bathroom of sorts, he heard Ginny follow him through and turned to her expectantly, "The door on the right is the bedroom." She said very quietly, the room was very small, only just enough room for the bed and a little room on either side, Harry placed her trunk at the foot of her bed and came back into the kitchen where Ginny had sat down in one of the chairs and was looking sadly at the table.

"Ah... are you alright Ginny?" He asked her and immediately felt stupid, why she would feel good after giving up her summer to be cooped up in a tent, he knew he wouldn't have done it.

"Not really."

"I'm sorry that Dumbledore asked you to come here, I never asked him to ask anybody to come here." He apologized to her quickly, _bloody Dumbledore, always sticking his nose where it wasn't wanted! _He thought vehemently.

"It's not about that Harry, Dumbledore never asked me to come." Harry looked at Ginny, who still hadn't looked up from the kitchen table, this wasn't the Ginny he knew, or at least knew of as he didn't really know Ginny at all, but what he did know was that she was usually very talkative. Harry remembered what Dobby had said about why she was late.

"Is it to do with why Ron was yelling at you?" He asked sitting down across from her on the table.

"How do you know about that?" She asked shocked, surprisingly looking up from the table, Harry saw that her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were tear stained.

"Dobby told me that you were running late because, you and Ron were fighting." He told her, looking away from her face, it shocked him to see so much emotion.

"Yeah, it's everything to do with us fighting," she said, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She nodded, but did not speak, Harry sat there and left her to talk, sitting in expectant silence and eventually, she did begin to talk.

"It started this morning, when professor Dumbledore came to the Burrow to ask Ron if he would like to spend the summer here, helping you get over... well you know, and almost as soon as he finished mum started saying that he really shouldn't, because it would mean more people to watch for the order. But then Ron agreed with her! And then... then Dumbledore started telling Ron off, that you were always there for him when he needed you, then Ron, the prat, interrupted the headmaster of all people, and in front of mum no less, and said that when you needed him, you almost got him killed, several times since you became friends, and that he was sick of it, I couldn't believe I was hearing this, and mum, she was agreeing with him, I never felt like any less of a Weasley!" She paused, looking back up at Harry, who was sitting there, staring at Ginny in shock, his mouth hanging open, and he closed it, not trusting himself to talk. "Then I said to Dumbledore, that I would come and spend the summer here, mum immediately said no, followed by Ron of course, but Dumbledore managed to talk mum into it. But then, when I was packing, Ron came into my room and started telling me how selfish you are, and that you showed off your money over him all the time, over our whole family." She looked at him again, taking a long steadying breath. "I'm sorry Harry, I know that should upset you more than me, but I know you haven't done anything to deserve this from him, I'm really sorry."

"S'okay." He choked out, his voice breaking, "Why did you come then?"

"Well I thought that Dumbledore was right, you would need someone here, especially after what happened at the Department of Mysterious, and well I felt I owe you a fair bit," she said, her voice suddenly strong, "for what you did for me when I was eleven."

"Thank you," he said looking at the cabinets that were attached to the wall behind Ginny, "but don't feel you owe me anything, you know what I'm like." He spat, referring to when Hermione had said he "had a saving people thing." Both he and Ginny fell into an uncomfortable silence, soon though she spoke.

"I do feel I owe you something."

"Well don't, forget about it okay? It was nothing-"

"Nothing?" She asked, looking scandalized by Harry's words. "I almost killed four people, four! All that aside, I almost died myself, and I was going to if it hadn't been for you, Harry, it may not mean anything at all to you, but my life is pretty important to me!" with that she turned and went into the bedroom that Harry had just placed her trunk. She came back out of the room, her hair flying around wildly.

"I still see him every night when I sleep, every bloody night I wake up and when I do, I cry, I cry until its time to get up, and be a normal person again." Her voice was rising, making Harry shrink slightly back into his chair. "The dreams are always the same, night after night it's the same thing, the same pain, the same torture," she looked at Harry and sighed and spoke quietly, "It's hard for me to forget Harry, it's hard for me to think it was nothing, you saved _my life_ and countless others, don't ever tell me it was nothing Harry, to me, it was everything." She walked back into the bedroom, and Harry could hear the springs on her bed as they squeaked under her.

Harry bowed his head, _I know I say stupid things but that was up there,_ he thought to himself, he stood up and left the tent.

Harry awoke the next morning just as the sun poked through his window, since he had returned to Privet Drive he had woken up every morning as soon as the soft sunlight had touched his bedroom window, and as he rolled over and saw the tent that was pitched in the middle of his room, he remembered the events of the day prior.

He got up and put on some of Dudley's old track pants which were very loose and Harry had to pull the drawstring as tight as he could, he threw on an old shirt and went straight into the tent.

Ginny was sitting at the table her hands wrapped around a mug, she looked up when she saw him come through the tent opening, and greeted him with a sad smile. He looked away quickly and began to talk.

"Ginny... I'm, ah... really sorry about last night," He looked at her briefly for a moment before continuing on, "I know that from time to time I say things without really thinking about how other people may take, I'm really sorry." He really was sorry, he'd never made anyone so upset before.

"I know Harry, I probably shouldn't have gone off at-"

"Yes you should have," he interrupted quickly, "I don't pick up on things unless someone does that to me occasionally." She gave him another smile, this time it was without any sadness, she seemed happier already. He looked around the kitchen looking for something to start the breakfast with, for himself and Ginny. "How can I cook if there isn't anything to cook with?" He said after poking his head in yet another cabinet.

"Harry Potter will not be cooking anything! Not while Dobby is Harry Potter's house elf, he is not needing to do anything!" Harry knocked his head on the inside roof of the cabinet as he jumped in surprise.

"Dobby! Where did you come from?" He asked the elf that was busying himself over around the kitchen preparing the meal.

"Dobby is only just getting back from being at the Phoenix House," said the elf, "and Dobby has bringed letters!" He pulled a stack from inside his cozy and put them down on the table on his way past it.

Harry picked them up and untied the string that bound them, he read through the envelopes and placing each letter that was addressed to him or Ginny in a different pile, there were only four letters in total, he quickly gave Ginny her letters silently and sat down in the chair that was on the other side of the table but to Ginny's right.

He opened the top one on his pile, it was a letter from Hermione, and Harry was excited maybe Hermione might be able to come after all.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm so sorry, but I can't stay at your house at all this summer, my parents want me to spend the entire summer with them especially since I've hardly had anytime with them over the last year or so._

_But please Harry, try to move on, it's what we all try to do and it's what Sirius would have wanted you to do._

_I'm sorry Harry, I must keep this short Dobby says that he needs to get back to you and your Wheezy now, make sure you and Ron don't terrorize your relatives too much._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Harry was upset that Hermione couldn't come to stay, and like every time he thought about Sirius, or even when he heard someone say that they were _serious_ he got upset, he was even more upset that Hermione was yet to hear about Ron's supposed falling out with Harry.

The next letter was addressed to him much like his Hogwarts letters were addressed to him, it said that he was in the Pitch, which must have been the name of the tent. He opened it and a rather official document fell out.

_Mr. Potter,_

_As per the wishes of the recently deceased Sirius Black, all deed's to property and a large percentile of the total monetary of Sirius Black has been transferred to your private, and family vaults._

_With no successor to your guardian named, whether omitted purposefully or not, you have hereby gained access to your main family vault, which is a rather large, some of monetary and deeds._

_Once the all the deeds to property have been proof read thrice, they will be forwarded directly to you for further inspection, if you wish you may send them back upon inspection for continued safe keeping here at Gringotts._

_Respectfully,_

_Chief of Will's and Execution_

_Urgnab Gushnak_

The letter was short, but it shocked Harry, this was one of the last things that he ever expected when he woke up this morning, he put the letter down on the table his mind was blank. He hated the constant reminders that people left behind for him to find of them, he hated that in death, he had seen more and more of Sirius. He looked over at Ginny who had only both of her letters, and she had an unreadable expression on her face.

"What's the matter?" She asked him, he wordlessly passed her the letter from Gringotts, and after she read it she looked up at him, stunned. "Are you okay?" She asked tears forming in her eyes, which was something that Harry did not fail to notice, and he couldn't help but liken her to Cho, _everything for Ginny is so hard for her now._

"Yeah... I'm alright, it was just a bit of a shock, what about you?"

"Oh I miss him so much, I remember the first time that I met him, at Grimmauld Place, he was so nice, he was really quite," She stopped and looked at Harry for a moment before continuing on, "but that all changed when you came to stay Harry, he loved you so much Harry, I guess this is the only way he could show it since the ministry was still looking for him." It sounded lame to Harry, but maybe she was right.

"I'd give it all back for him though," he said an anger rising up within him, "if I hadn't been so stupid, if I'd done what I was told just once! It was so unfair, unfair for him, I didn't listen and I got him killed." His voice was rising, but his anger ebbed away, getting angry wouldn't help anything. _I'd probably do something stupid again._

"I'm sorry Harry," she said, "I know Sirius wouldn't want you to beat your self up over him like you are though."

"I know... and I'm trying not to, it's just so hard, I miss him so much it feels like I don't have anything to look forward to, everyone one of my fantasy's about after Hogwarts, getting out and into the world with Sirius to look out for me." He sighed and stabbed his fork into the banger on the plate that Dobby had put down in front of him. As he chewed on the food, a stale thought crossed his mind, he remembered the talk with Dumbledore about Sirius and how it had moved on to other things. Suddenly everything seemed to clear in his head and only one idea remained. He was going to tell Ginny, someone he hardly knew, someone who trusted him, and he was going to tell her everything.

He spent most of the day telling Ginny all about his life before and at Hogwarts, he told her everything, and he never felt the need to leave anything out, if it wasn't for Dobby and the seemingly endless stream of butter beer that he placed in front of Harry. For the first time that day, when Harry had just re-told the events of the Department of Mysteries, Harry looked up from the table, and into the tear stained face of Ginny Weasley, and felt more comfortable than he ever had before.


	2. II

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Tribe of Five  
**Author:** Otori  
**Author email:**  
**Category:** action/adventure/romance  
**Keywords:** Tribe, Harry, Ginny, secrets,  
**Spoilers:** All canon books along with _Quidditch Through The Ages_ and _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  
_**Rating:** PG-13  
**Summary:** Harry's sixth year where Harry finds what it is like to really truly fight back against Voldemort's forces, but will he learn enough in time to fight Voldemort himself?  
**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Anything else that you recognize belongs to Lian Hearn.

II

The summer progressed slowly for Harry, but it also seemed to flash by, from the second day that Ginny had arrived Harry began telling her everything that he could remember in his lifetime, and it never felt better to do so.

Throughout the weeks that flew by Harry had kept Dobby busy going in between Privet Drive and Diagon Alley, along with Grimmauld Place so that Harry was kept in the loop of the goings on in the Order, which he 'dutifully' relayed to Ginny.

He'd grown quite fond of the younger girl, they grew comfortable in each others presence and they seemed to be able to talk about anything and everything, and yet, they were able to sit in perfectly comfortable silence.

Ginny grew from a person that he hardly knew, to a person that he considered his greatest confident, he told her everything that Dumbledore told him, _if I can hear it then she can definitely hear it_. Well, that was not entirely true as there was one thing that he had never been able to bring up in conversation with her.

He hadn't told her of the prophecy, and he would, but it seemed that every time that he steered their conversation towards talking of the outside world, as they'd come to call it, she would abruptly change the topic all together.

This had frustrated Harry a lot, and finally over dinner on the eve of his birthday, Harry finally cornered Ginny to make sure she would hear him out.

"I've been meaning to say something Ginny, for a while now and I know you've avoided it, but I really want to tell-"

"Harry stop!" She interrupted him, "I had to watch you tell the lowest points in your life to me before Harry, and I'm still trying to get over what you told me then."

"Ginny, I really need to tell you – someone – anyone, this. Can I tell you please, it's possibly the biggest thing in my life at the moment, and it's really playing with my head." He reached over the table and grabbed her hand that was resting beside her plate, the other hand of hers was busily playing with a lock of hair that fell beside her face, something which Harry had noticed she did when she was nervous.

"Okay." She gripped his hand tightly with both of hers, biting her bottom lip. He took a deep steadying breath and he told her of the prophecy, how it was all up to him to beat the darkest man and most powerful that the world had ever seen. She looked at him with wide eyes, glittering with unshed tears.

"But that's... that's ridiculous!" she exclaimed her face red, "Dumbledore or someone like that should have to do it." She breathed deeply and sighed; "You've done so much already for us, it just seems unfair that you have to do more than you already have... is Professor Dumbledore sure that it's about you?" A hopeful expression on her face.

"The prophecy said that someone born at the end of July would have a power that The Dark Lord knows not, but the parents also had to have 'defied' Him three times already, it cam down to me and... someone else, but Voldemort chose me." He said as he lifted the hair that fell over his forehead that covered his scar, Ginny's expression fell. The two fell into an uncomfortable silence, until Harry stood up from the table.

"I'm going to have a shower." He muttered as he left walked towards the bathroom in the tent. He closed the door behind him, and took in the sight of the bathroom for the umpteenth time and shook his head thinking that the wizarding world would never cease to surprise him.

The bathroom, while small was shining as though light itself was emitting from the brass taps in the sink and shower, along with the thick red floor mat that sat regally in the middle of the bathroom, there was a toilet in the far corner which was Harry's first stop.

He had a rather cool shower that seemed to freshen him in the summer heat and, while he was toweling himself dry after the shower he looked in the mirror of his slightly changed appearance, well he had hardly changed at all it's just his hair had grown longer, after years of being the same messy length, it had suddenly grown longer, not by much but he was still surprised.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and poked his head into the kitchen, luckily Ginny had already gone to bed, and he quickly dashed into his own room outside the tent which only stood up to his mid rift.

He jumped under the covers and put his wet hair on the pillow. Closing his eyes to a hopefully dream free sleep.

* * *

Harry was awoken midway through the usual dream that he had, the usual pain that he experienced, and shook his head to shake the surprised look on Sirius' face as he fell backwards through the veil. He looked over to the window when he heard the noise that had woken him.

A number of owls were perched on his window sill all seemingly patient bar a very proud looking eagle owl that was pecking at the glass every so often, Harry quickly got up and let the owls in, the impatient owl dropped, almost threw, the letter into Harry's bedroom and took off into the early morning sky.

The other owl's flew in the room, he counted four more with a Hogwarts owl among them, and a little more 'politely' dropped their letters and in some cases packages onto his bed and flew out of the room, Harry looked in shock at the pile that was now on his bed.

But the one thing that had his attention was the letter that the eagle owl had brought him, he picked it up off the floor and turned it over in his hands, it was addressed to him but the ink was blood red and simply read.

_Harry Potter_

He looked at the wax seal on the back of the envelope carefully this time, it was a bird with its wings spread that wrapped around the circular seal, he the letter's and the couple of packages from off his bed and carried them into the tent and use the table to keep everything organized.

He dumped everything on the table as quietly as he could and went to the bench to light the candles, to give him some light. He sat down at the table in front of the few letters and packages he had brought with him and opened the one that came from the strange owl.

_Harry Potter,_

_You must send word to your headmaster that keeping the knowledge of your heritage from you will no longer be acceptable, and should he continue in such a manner we will forcibly claim you._

_Do not be alarmed, I am among your friends, and I have your best interest in mind, however your headmaster has been, "stunting your growth" as he roughly put it I believe._

_You will learn of your heritage and of your rightful inheritance, and I shall come to unlock what is truly yours tomorrow._

_It is customary to send gifts on one's birth celebration, so I send with this letter your parents wed bands, I believe they were sent to us by your _headmaster.

_You have until tomorrow to have your headmaster inform you of what you should have already been told, if by this time tomorrow you have not been told, whether it be that he has chosen not to, then I will take you away._

_I have danced to his tune long enough._

_Aota_

As soon as Harry finished the letter he grabbed the envelope and turned it upside down above the table and two rings fell out with a chink onto the table. He picked them both up and looked at them in his palm, fingering them lightly, he picked the closest one up and inspected it closely, and it had an inscription, which read;

_My Heart, from James_

He picked up the other and inspected it for similar markings, the other was inscribed;

_My Heart, from Lily_

He choked back sobs that threatened to break the quiet air around him, he held his parents rings in his hands, they were the most tangible link to his parents, except for the photos that Hagrid had given him, but these were much better he decided. He'd have to get Dobby to go and get something to keep them in, or on.

Dobby! He had to get word to Dumbledore.

"Dobby!" He hissed into the darkness.

"Yes... Harry Potter sir." Came the reply, though not anywhere near as enthusiastic as usual, he figured it was very early hour that Harry had called upon him. He handed the elf the letter that the Aota person had sent him.

"Take this to Professor Dumbledore as soon as you can, wake him up if you have to." He ordered the house elf.

"Yessir..." Slurred the elf before popping, and Harry wasn't sure, but he almost thought that it was slower than normal. Maybe the early hour was playing on him as well.

He put both the rings on the side of the table and stared at them reverently, he slowly tore his eyes away from them and reached for another letter from the pile and opened it, it was another letter from Hermione.

_Happy Birthday Harry,_

_I hope you and Ginny are getting on well enough with each other, I hope that neither of you have tried to kill the other yet, I know I could hardly spend _that_ much time in such close quarters with another person._

_I have spoken to Ron this summer only twice, and, I'm worried about him, I don't understand why he's doing this Harry, I know he's had troubles with your fame before, but I think everything has just bubbled to the surface and erupted out all at once, I'm really sorry he's doing this to you Harry._

_Your birthday present is with a different owl, but it should arrive with this letter, I hope you enjoy it, I know I would have if I shared your love of Quidditch._

_With Love,_

_Hermione_

Harry looked around the table for the package that would most likely be from Hermione, it was under one of the bigger parcels, it was about the size of a book, but it wasn't solid like a book was, he tore the wrapping from the book to be shocked by what he saw.

It was a Quidditch magazine, and the front cover said that it was the first issue, and in celebration of this the magazine featured _all _of the final series in the last British Cup, which all the club teams played for, it was a great present.

He looked at the table, there were two letter's left, which by closer inspection were his owl results and Ginny's Hogwarts letter. He opened the next package, which was a box of Hagrid's rock cakes, with a small note attached;

_Harry, _

_Happy Birthday, hope you enjoy the cakes, I tried a new recipe and if they burn don't worry, that's just the Fire Whiskey._

_Hagrid and Grawp_

Harry laughed quietly to himself, Hagrid is the only adult that would ever let him have anything like this, but it wouldn't matter, the rock cakes were most likely just that, rocks. The next, and last, parcel was from his parents other friend Remus Lupin, it was a lot smaller than Hagrid's, he opened it and his eyes widened, it was a Snitch, still in it's box, Harry placed it slowly back onto the table, the horrible memory of what he saw in Snape's pensieve coming back to haunt him.

"Harry Potter Sir!" Said a much perkier Dobby from his elbow, causing Harry to jump, and almost fall off his chair.

"What!?" He snapped at the House elf.

"P... Professor Dumbledore is coming to Harry Potter's house. He is to be getting here at morning tea." Said the scared looking elf, and before Harry could reply Dobby popped, presumably to make breakfast, hopefully, Harry was hungry and Ginny would be up soon anyway.

He looked at the clock on the wall; it said that it was well into the morning, well a lot later than when Harry usually woke up. He turned back to his last package and opened it, it had another small card like the ones on Hagrid's present and read simply;

_Happy Birthday Harry_

_Love,_

_Remus_

This confused Harry, usually he didn't send any sort of present to him, but his curiosity eventually got the better of him and he tore the paper from the box in front of him and when he saw the front cover of the book almost laughed out loud but he was too emotionally drained from the rest of the morning to feel much excitement, though a small smile spread across his face.

_Hogwarts A History_

A book that had served his friend Hermione well over the years in a round about way, a book that he would never get around to reading, while it would be something that he would value.

He thought back to the time he had spent at Grimmauld place over the Christmas break and how happy both Lupin and Sirius looked, how happy everyone looked, and especially how happy Harry had felt, at the moment though he felt as though a Dementor was but a step away. The horrible dreading feeling of what Dumbledore had conveniently forgotten to tell him about who he really was.

Harry breathed in the smell of the frying bacon that Dobby had going on the stove and he watched the house elf working expertly as he snapped his fingers and the bacon flipped themselves in the air and landed back on the pan with and a renewed crackling sound began.

Ginny came out of her room and sat down at the table opposite Harry, and as she looked over the table a realization spread across her face.

"Happy Birthday Harry!" She said jumping up and running around the table to give him an enthusiastic hug.

"Thanks Ginny, sleep well?" He asked her as she moved back to her own sidde of the table.

"Same as usual," she sighed, and Harry saw her tear stained cheeks, "how about you?"

"I was until the mail arrived," he said gesturing to the pile on the table, "this came for you as well." He said handing her the letter the Hogwarts owl had brought her.

"Thanks, did you get yours as well?"

"Yes, I haven't opened it yet, I'm terrified that I've got Troll for everything." He said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh come off it Harry, you wouldn't get Trollfor _everything_." She said lightening his mood, slightly.

He picked up the envelope and opened it, his hands slightly shaking from nervousness of him failing the O.W.L's, he pulled out the two pieces of parchment and unfolded the first one.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Your results for you O.W.L's taken last month have been graded, all results are recorded as your score for each exam, however due to the disturbance during your Astronomy exam your marks have been increased, however the increase may not have carried your mark into a higher band._

_Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations _(Overall Mark)

_Theory: Exceeds Expectations_

_Practical: Acceptable_

_Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding _(Overall Mark)

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Exceeds Expactations_

_Charms: Outstanding _(Overall Mark)

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Outstanding_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding Bonus O.W.L _(Overall Mark)

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Outstanding_

_Divination: Poor _(Overall Mark)

_Theory: Poor_

_Practical: Poor_

_Herbology: Exceeds Expectations _(Overall Mark)

_Theory: Acceptable_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectations_

_History of Magic: Acceptable _(Overall Mark)

_Theory: Acceptable_

_Practical: N/A_

_Potions: Outstanding _(Overall Mark)

_Theory: Exceeds Expectations_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectations_

_Transfiguration: Outstanding _(Overall Mark)

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Outstanding_

_You have received nine O.W.L's out of a possible twelve, placing you ninth in your year and among the highest percentile in you year group, according to our standard record you will be able to study any subject you wish with the exception(s) of the following:_

_Divination _

_Subject choices will be made on Friday the sixth after subject seminars from members of the Ministry Educational Department, these will cover the content of each subject._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Griselda Marchbanks_

"Wow, I didn't think I'd do this well!" He exclaimed to no one particular, although there was no one else around except for Ginny for him to talk to.

"How'd you go?"

"Nine, and she said that overall I came ninth!"

"Can I've a look?" He nodded and passed her the piece of parchment, while she was looking over it Harry took the time to clear the table a bit he pocketed his parents rings and put the Rock cakes on top of the counter along with _Hogwarts A History_.

"Dumbledore's coming at about ten." He said turning back to face her.

"Why?" She asked, an expression of concern fall across her face.

"Apparently, there was a bit more that he never told, he lied to me again." He nodded to the other piece of parchment on the table, she picked it up and read it.

"What do you think they mean by claim you?"

"Kidnap me I suppose," he sat down to the meal that Dobby placed on the table at his usual spot, "they sound pretty serious about it all." He sighed, they sat in a comfortable silence until they finished their meal until Ginny finally spoke up.

"So did they send your parents wedding rings?" Harry nodded. "Can I have a look?" He pulled the two rings from his pocket and handed them to her across the table, his hand lightly brushing hers, a jolt of warmth spreading through his tired body.

She poked the rings around her hand and held each of them close to her eye for inspection and sighed.

"I wish I knew them Harry, they seemed like such great people, Sirius was always talking about them last summer." She sighed and handed the rings back to Harry who pocketed them again, Harry nodded in agreement, his body numb, no one except for his parents friends ever spoke about them to him.

"I do too, I do too," he murmured, "will you stay in here when Dumbledore comes?"

"Unless you don't want me to." She replied.

"'Course I do." Harry said, he got up wordlessly and went into the bathroom to take a shower. He sat down under the shower head letting the water fall over him relaxing under the cool water, he mulled over the exciting morning that he had had, angry at Dumbledore again at leaving a part of what made up Harry out of their oh so 'truthful' conversation.

He kept the rings with him, he had taken them out of his trouser pockets and kept them with him under the shower continually looking at them, he slipped his mothers on his left ring finger and his fathers on top of his mothers on the same finger, he hoped they would both come off.

He turned the water off and toweled himself dry leaving the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his waist he stopped in surprise when he saw Professor Dumbledore and Ginny sitting at the table with Dobby dutifully pouring tea into cups on the table.

"Hello Harry."

"Sir." He muttered and kept walking towards his room to get a change of clothes, throwing on a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt that Dobby had bought for him in Diagon Alley's _Muggle All Sort's_, taking a deep steadying breath he entered back into the tent ready for anything that Dumbledore may have to say to him, he entered the room and noticed that Ginny was missing and her bedroom door was shut.

"Sit down Harry," Said Dumbledore gesturing to the chair opposite him, Harry bit his tongue to stop himself from reminding Dumbledore that _he _was the guest, not Harry. "First I must ask you to forgive me Harry."

"For what?"

"For never telling you about the Tribe," Harry said nothing and Dumbledore took this as a sign to continue, "I never meant to do this on purpose Harry, it was such a busy time and an old man can be quite forgetful."

Harry nodded, but offered no acceptance and motioned for Dumbledore to continue, giving him a stern stare. Dumbledore's expression changed and he looked more like a Professor than he had a minute ago, _all high and mighty again, _Harry thought bitterly.

"The Tribe is one of the most ancient and knowledgeable men of all time, they have become but legends in our time. The Tribe were eventually Japanese men, they were there long before the country, or people for that matter, existed. it is said that they walked the earth with the Gods, they traveled from place to place, learning all their knowledge from the Gods, soon with all this knowledge they became almost like the Gods they learnt from." He paused, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes before continuing his story, which Harry was starting to listen to despite his dislike for his Headmaster.

"The Tribe were very dangerous men, having studied for millennia upon millennia they perfected a type of blood magic, that tied their knowledge to their soul, their blood which the passed on to their sons and daughters for generations to come, and only the combination of all five bloodlines eventually turning to one would bring the knowledge of the Tribe, back to earth." Dumbledore sigh heavily and shook his head, seemingly ordering his thoughts before continuing, Harry was very confused, it seems that this was not something that this Aota wanted him to know.

"The knowledge is not known, it is something that they kept to themselves when man walked the earth with them, long gone were the Gods who had entrusted the earth to the Tribe. The key to this combination was only passed along to the firstborn of each of the descendants of the Tribe." Harry opened his mouth about to interrupt the old man, but Dumbledore held his hand up to silence him.

"Think of the possibility Harry, that over time how far apart these people would have drifted, in fact, it is inconceivable how anyone could ever unlock the knowledge being the intricate plan of the Tribe to keep their knowledge off the earth. But, eventually in Japan, more than seven thousand generations after the Tribe had conceived their children and committed Hari Kiri, suicide, two people had a baby, whose parents were first born of the bloodline, and whose parents were the first born in the blood line."

"Professor, what-" Harry began rudely, but Dumbledore cut him off sharply a fire briefly entering his eyes, quieting Harry for good.

"I'm almost there Harry, show patience for a change and I will eventually get to the point." He sighed again and continued. "One baby, which had combined four of bloodlines born, by some sick twist of luck, the baby was kidnapped from it's cot, and brought here to England, this was about the time that the Sun never set on Britain, this child, while nameless to us, met with a man who took her in, the two eventually became lovers and bore many children, the man bore the name Evans." Harry's eyes widened when he heard his mothers maiden name.

"Yes, though the fifth bloodline was still elusive, however, Lily met your father, James Potter, who was heir to the greatest Wizarding bloodline; he was also heir to the Tribe bloodline, they met and bore a child, a child of all five bloodlines, Harry, that prophecy is no coincidence, you are the one person who can unlock the knowledge of the Tribe." Dumbledore had finished talking and folded his hands in his lap and waited for Harry to speak.

Harry thought this over in his head, it seemed impossible to him, that five separate bloodlines having a one stage been so dispersed join again, _why the does it have to be me, _he thought angrily, _it is impossible the whole world has gone crazy,_ but suddenly he remembered the prophecy.

"But the prophecy says I have a power the Dark Lord knows not, that sounds like something that Voldemort would know." A small part of Harry hoped that if Voldemort know of this, then it wasn't really him that had to kill Voldemort. That small part of Harry died when he saw a small smile spread across the old mans face.

"No body knows what the knowledge is, but power is often not measured in strength alone, I believe that the knowledge has a key to defeating Voldemort." Dumbledore now sounded almost apologetic.

"Why don't I have this knowledge then?" Harry sighed.

"Before the Tribe departed, they entrusted a man with a scroll, the scroll contained a list of ingredients to a potion that would stimulate the knowledge to escape into your mind, this man was a Keeper and he passed this on to each of his son, who in turn did the same, and so on. But the Keeper's started to experiment with the aged men and women who had inherited a single line of the Tribe, many died. It was lucky that they keepers had enough sense to try this after the men and women had born their first child."

"So all I have to do is drink the potion that this, Aota will give me and then I'll have this knowledge?" He asked.

"Yes, I have no idea how the actual process works, but I will look after you Harry, I promise you that from now on I will be there for you." Dumbledore smiled hopefully at Harry, who eventually smiled back, the anger at the old man for his past failings was still there, but he knew he would need his help sooner or later.

"I will be too, Harry." Said Ginny from her door, both Harry and Dumbledore jumped and the Headmaster was quickly on his feet.

"What did you hear?!" Dumbledore demanded the fire returning to his eyes; Harry saw fear flash past her eyes before a look of defiance replaced it.

"All of it, and I'm glad I did!" Ginny was almost shouting.

"I'm disappointed in you Ms. Weasley." Said the old man, he sounded sad.

"I'm even more disappointed in _you _Sir!" She came and stood beside where Harry sat her hand falling on his shoulder protectively, he sat glued to his chair fascinated more than anything else he was feeling in this exchange. "This should have been the very first thing that you told Harry did you ever stop to think that there was a person, behind the prophecy?" She demanded of the Headmaster.

"I did, that is why I chose not to tell Harry of this for as long as I could because he needed to live, Harry needed to understand that there was more to life than being... I do not know what he will become," Dumbledore sat, and motioned for Ginny to do the same, "I do apologize Ms. Weasley, I know that at your age and in similar circumstances, I would have done the same thing, and I have a feeling that you, Harry, would have told her once I had left." Would he have? Eventually of course, but it was something he would have liked to have thought over a bit himself. He nodded reassuringly at Ginny.

"I must be going, you two should pack, I feel that Harry you have fortified your bond with your Aunt sufficiently for the next year, you will both leave for Grimmauld Place tonight, where we will be joined by the rest of the Weasley's on Sunday." Dumbledore rubbed his hands together and smiled warmly at them both before disapparating away.

"Thanks Ginny for saying that, it means a real lot you know." He said smiling gratefully at her.

"No problem Harry, I'm sorry for eaves-"

"Don't be." He cut her off. "I'm going to go pack so we can get to-"

"What?" Asked Ginny when he saw his expression, then it seemed to Harry that she knew exactly what.

_Grimmauld Place._

"It'll be alright Harry, I know he wouldn't want you to be there anymore than he did when he was there."

"Oh, I'm sure he doesn't." Harry replied coldly.

"But it is your house now isn't it? So he wants you to go back to it." Harry realized she meant Sirius, and he saw the truth in her words, but he was never worried about that.

"I was talking about Ron." He said, carefully saying his friends name.

"Oh."


	3. III

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Tribe of Five  
**Author:** Otori  
**Author email:**  
**Category:** action/adventure/romance  
**Keywords:** Tribe, Harry, Ginny, secrets,  
**Spoilers:** All canon books along with _Quidditch Through The Ages_ and _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  
_**Rating:** PG-13  
**Summary:** Harry's sixth year where Harry finds what it is like to really truly fight back against Voldemort's forces, but will he learn enough in time to fight Voldemort himself?  
**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Anything else that you recognize belongs to Lian Hearn.

III

Harry had finished packing and was watching a Quidditch game in the magazine that Hermione had bought him when he heard a groan of effort behind him from the tent and he jumped up to help Ginny into his room with her trunk from the tent.

"You have rocks in here or something?" He asked her as he put it down heavily on the floor.

"No, just those Rock Cakes." They both laughed, at the lame joke, both nervous about re-entering their dangerous world.

"Sometimes I almost forgot what was really going on."

"Me too," she said, "just try to ignore Ron if he decides to talk to you, unless of course he's apologizing, I'll stick up for you." She gave him a nervous grin, and he saw her cheeks give off a red tinge.

"Yeah." He replied, not really listening his mind on other things, like the fact that he would be going back to Grimmauld Place, his god father's house, where he had spent his happiest memory; talking with Sirius next to the fire over the Christmas break.

A flap of wings entering the window interrupted his thoughts, it was the same owl that had brought the letter to him that morning, and the owl behaved the exact same way it had during its previous visit and dropped the letter barely inside the window and flew away again.

_Harry Potter_

The same dark red ink was messily scratched on the front of the envelope, he flipped it open and opened it eagerly to see what Aota had to say this time.

_Harry Potter_

_I will see you at Phoenix House tomorrow the 1st of August, you will take the Potion of the Tribe and I will await you at Hogwarts._

_Aota_

"Is it from that Aota person?" asked Ginny after had looked up from reading the brief letter, the sense of dread in his stomaching increasing, making him more and more nervous.

"Yeah, he's coming to Grimmauld place tomorrow."

"Oh, I wonder whe- ARGH!" Harry whipped out his wand and turned to look at Ginny, who had shouted scared by something, only to drop his wand back to his side almost immediately. "Bloody hell Tonks, did you have to do that?"

"Yep, and you should have seen your face too!" She turned around the room seemingly looking for Harry holding a large book, "Got your stuff?" She asked the two of them.

"Yeah." Replied Harry, at the same time as Ginny had politely said 'yes' seemingly embarrassed about her reaction to Tonks appearing.

"Dobby'll bring it to Headquarters... Well come on, Mad Eye's going to kill me if I take any longer.

"Aren't we going to Phoenix House?" Asked Ginny, and she grabbed the other side of the book.

"Headquarters, Phoenix House and Grimmauld Place are all the same thing." Explained Tonks gesturing frantically at Harry to copy Ginny, her expression softening when realization sunk in. "It'll be okay, you'll see, it's totally different."

"Because Sirius won't be there." Harry replied, emotions that he'd hidden away for the past month swelling up to the surface, the constant anger at Dumbledore, the loss of Sirius and the recent frustration with this Tribal stuff.

He felt a hand enter his and he looked up and saw that Ginny was giving him a reassuring look, she squeezed his hand and guided it onto the book. He barely felt the pull behind his naval before he was standing in a bright white hallway. He pulled Ginny from the ground as she had fallen over when they had arrived, and somehow Harry had remained standing where he usually fell.

"Thanks." She said, looking around in awe. "What happened here?" Ginny asked Tonks, who was still cursing on the ground.

"Dobby did," snapped Tonks, finally standing up, "you'd be surprised at how quickly it took him too, come on the others are in the kitchen." Tonks led them through to the kitchen.

Harry's eyes scanned the room looking at each of the people at and around the table, he saw Moody talking sternly with 'Dung, and Professor McGonagall sitting in between Bill and Charlie Weasley, laughing at something one of them had said, in front of her was an empty wine glass. Kingsley Shacklebolt was standing with his back to the wall surveying over the room his shoulders tense, his eyes met Harry's and he visibly relaxed.

"They're back." He announced to the room, all eyes suddenly on them, Harry in turn swept his gaze back across the room taking in the Order member's looks. Moody much like Shaklebolt looked more relaxed while 'Dung looked very very tired and barely acknowledged him at all. He paused at the Weasley brothers expressions, Bill had one eye brow raised and a small smile on his face, Charlie's expression was almost identical. Harry realized with a shock that he was still holding onto Ginny's hand and immediately let go, but to his annoyance their smiles only widened.

Now that Ginny was loose she went straight to her brothers and was smothered by both of them hugging her at the same time.

"Hello little one." Said Charlie letting go of Ginny, Bill following suit.

"I'm not little you know."

"Yeah, yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Said Bill as he ruffled her hair.

"Hello Potter." Said Professor McGonagall who had stood up to allow the family more room, and had moved towards Harry.

"Nice to see you professor." Replied Harry.

"Come now Potter no need to be so formal, it's Minerva until we get back to school, and even then only use Professor in class or around other students." Tonks, Kingsley, Ginny, Bill and Charlie were all looking on their mouths wide open in shock, they were never asked to 'not be formal' with McGonagall. Harry was as embarrassed as they were shocked.

"Erm... okay, um Minerva." Harry said, the sound strange to him coming from his own mouth.

"That's better, your summer has been good I trust?" She asked and the room when back to normal, the Weasley's were bunched to together in a tight group talking quietly, and Kinsley was now talking with Tonks.

"Yes, it was better than usual," he said, his nervousness leaving him momentarily, "how has yours been?"

"Just been relaxing Potter, like most teachers do over the summer break," she looked back over to the table, "hmmm I'm going to go find where that bottle got to." She shuffled off and Harry almost laughed the person he was just talking to couldn't be further from the Professor McGonagall he knew. Bill came over to Harry and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Come have a word with me will you Harry?" He asked kindly.

"Uh... sure." His nervousness suddenly reappearing, Bill led Harry into the next room and led him over to the lounge room chairs and they sat down opposite each other.

"No doubt that Ginny told you about all that business between her, Ron and mum before she went to yours this summer, and I just wanted to let you know, that mum never had a problem with it. She just wanted to spend some time with her daughter before she was sent away again, But" Bill paused and took a deep breath, "I cannot tell you what's going with Ron at all, it's a mystery to me and everyone else at the Burrow. I can tell you though we're all on your side."

"Thanks..." Replied Harry, another person who he hardly knew was talking to him like a friend of many years.

"Listen, I'm supposed to be working on something for Dumbledore at Hogwarts so I've got to leave in a minute," Harry was about to ask what this something exactly was, "don't ask, it's between myself and Dumbledore."

"Alright then." Harry replied, _shouldn't everything concerning the war involve me now?_

"And Charlie has to leave in a couple of days, supposedly he's bringing in some dragons to let loose in the forest around Hogwarts, and well, we want you to look after Ginny for us."

"Of course I will," Harry said straight away, "She usually ends up helping me just as much as I help her." Bill winked at Harry.

"Well I've got to go, have a good year Harry." Bill rose and left.

"Yeah, good luck Bill."

Harry sat unmoving for a while trying to keep his mind off just about everything, he couldn't believe that just after a month he was back in Sirius' house, he got up to wander the halls, passing the room he spent the previous summer in, the room he had shared with Ron.

He went up to the top room, the one that Sirius had used when he was staying here, he pushed the door open, trying to be as quiet as he could and poked his head into the room. The lights were lit and were casting their light over the room, he was shocked to see his trunk resting at the foot of the bed.

It was a four poster just like the ones at Hogwarts although it was probably twice the size of his Hogwarts bed. There was a large chest of drawers along with a closet on one side of the room, on the other was a dresser whish had bits of parchment and a view quills scattered on it.

In the middle of the dresser was a large feather, one that looked very familiar to him, he picked it up and ran it gingerly over his hand, a Hippogriffs feather. Buckbeaks.

He sighed and laid the feather down on the table, smoothing it down he went through each of the drawers looking for any hint of Sirius, but found that they had either been emptied or Sirius never had used them. There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." Harry called, it was Ginny.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she came down and sat on the bed next to Harry.

"Surprisingly I am, just looking around," she opened her mouth to say something but it just hung open, "are you?"

"I dunno, Bill and Charlie told me about Ron and all the stuff he's been doing at home, mums just about to toss him out, she's livid with him and what he said about you."

"What about what he said to you?" Harry asked.

"I dunno, Bill and Charlie never mentioned that." She said sadly.

"From what Bill told me, it sounds as if Ron is starting to act a bit like... Percy."

"Oh, is that what he wanted to talk to you about?"

"Yeah, and about your mum not really having a go at me or anything, she was just looking out for the family." Harry told her, she seemed at least a little relieved at this. Laughter drifted into the room from the kitchen all the way from down the stairs.

"I'm going to go to bed." Announced Harry.

"Are you sure you're alright? You were so quiet downstairs." She asked him, biting her bottom lip again.

"I didn't see Professor Lupin down there." He said in way of explanation.

"I didn't even notice, I was so excited that Bill and Charlie were there," She leaned over and quickly kissed him on the cheek, "I'm going to tell everyone to leave you alone for the night, you've got a big day tomorrow." She left the room and closed the door quietly, and sat stunned on the bed, touching the spot where Ginny had kissed him, his thoughts turned to what may happen tomorrow.

"Don't remind me."

Surprisingly, Harry slept in, well sleeping in for Harry was around about nine, but never the less he pulled back his sheets and got dressed, he left his room and made his way downstairs, he stopped outside Ginny's room.

He pushed the door open, poking his head into the room looked around he went over to the bed that Ginny was sleeping in and sat down near the top of the bed. He brushed the hair that stuck to her face her eyes closed and her jaw clenched, it was obvious to Harry, that this was a person that was having a nightmare.

He gently shook her awake and her eyes snapped open she saw Harry and threw her arms around his neck and cried silently into his shoulder, knowing not else to do he put his arms around her and spoke soothingly. Eventually she calmed down and he asked her what happened.

"Just the usual, I'm just getting sick of it, it builds up." She said not moving from her position, Harry only pulled her closer to him.

"I know, I'll be here to look out for you, don't worry." He whispered into her ear, she murmured something incoherently into his shoulder, the moment passed and they pulled apart, he was reluctant to relinquish his touch on her completely and grabbed her hand.

"Can you come down with me?" He asked her.

"Why?" She responded.

"Because I know that Dumbledore and that Aota bloke are going to be down there." He said a blush of embarrassment creeping onto his face.

"Of course, give me a couple of minutes to get dressed and I'll be out in a minute." She said as she pushed the covers back and walked into the bathroom sliding the door shut behind her.

His thoughts turned to the younger girl only metres away in the bathroom, it seemed as though she had crept up on him and he had come to know her as his greatest friend, if not more.

He often tried to compare to Hermione, trying to justify his feelings towards Ginny, but whenever he thought of Hermione, he never thought of how she looked, the way her hips moved when she walked, or the way her eyes danced with laughter and especially not the way she played with her hair.

"You ready Harry?" _Nothing can compare to that smile either._

He stood up and joined her by the door and they both went down to the kitchen, he tensed as they entered the kitchen, and as Harry feared, Dumbledore sat there, however surprisingly alone.

"Professor." Said Ginny coldly, she was still angry at him, though Harry knew she wouldn't stay that way for too long.

"Miss Weasley, and Harry, I trust you both slept well?" Dumbledore looked at Harry as he said this, and all he did was nod, Harry heard Ginny mutter something under her breath, and saw Dumbledore briefly turn his eyes towards her.

"Harry, Aota is waiting for you in the lounge room, Miss Weasley how about some breakfast? The others will join us eventually I'm sure, though I suspect Minerva will be some time." He said with a small smile.

"Actually sir I was wondering if Ginny could come with me." When he finished talking she put her hand in his and held on tightly.

"I do not see that as a problem, however I must have _you_, Miss Weasley, promise that if Aota asks you to leave, then you shall." Harry reassuringly squeezed her hand and she nodded to Dumbledore. "Well I believe you know the way to the lounge room." And he gestured the back through the door they had come.

Harry was surprised at Dumbledore's behavior even last night he had barely taken the time to see if Harry was alright, despite the letter at the beginning of the summer, saying how much he cares for Harry, he sure had a funny way of showing it.

Harry took a deep steadying breath and they went into the lounge room, on the couch a bald old Asian man sat his eyes closed as though he was resting, Harry cleared his throat and the mans eyes slowly opened and he turned his head slightly to look at the intruders, he stood suddenly and gave Harry a low bow.

"Harry Potter," said Aota, "I would offer you a seat, but that will seem very inconsiderate when it is you that owns this house, and not I." Harry returned the bow, as did Ginny, he could not speak for her but he felt rather foolish doing so.

"Err... right." Harry said, his nervousness increasing as he spotted the sword that Aota had in his right hand, while sheathed; Harry couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"Do not worry Harry Potter," Aota said noticing his discomfort, "This is a ceremonial blade, the five blades of the Tribe are in a museum in Japan, awaiting you to-" he looked at Ginny for the first time, "I take it that she knows of all this?" Harry nodded. "And she knows not to tell anyone?" An anger spreading through Harry.

"I know who I can and cannot trust, Mr. Aota, I have been in this type of problem before." The man again bowed.

"I apologize Harry Potter; some one like me should not question you of all people." A gentle smile spread across his face. "Please, I have only one name; it is not Mr. Aota at all, just Aota. Now we will sit." The man despite already saying that he would offer a seat to Harry seemed to want to move along the conversation.

"What is this potion that I'm going to have to drink?" Harry asked.

"It is most likely the oldest potion in existence, made from many ingredients that do not exist anymore, this potion will give you a means to access the knowledge of the order, I think." A frown creasing the old mans brow, Harry was about to speak but Ginny beat him to it.

"What do you know about this potion?"

"Only what I told you but a moment ago." He replied a blush creeping over his visage. "I also know however that it is the potion you _need_ to take to undergo the journey to regaining the knowledge."

"What is the knowledge?" Harry asked.

"I do not know.... nobody knows, it may not even be knowledge that is just what the keepers have called it." He replied.

"What's going to happen to Harry once he takes the potion?" Asked Ginny voicing his own concern for him.

"I do not know." Aota said quietly.

"You don't know very much do you?" Accused Ginny.

"I know more about the Tribe than anyone else!"

"It still doesn't help at all." She said.

"Harry Potter will know all about the Tribe once he has taken the potion," Aota drew an age encrusted vial from his robes and placed it on the table between them, "drink Harry Potter." Harry immediately reached for the vial.

"Harry don't, we have to learn more about it." Harry shook his head.

"I have to, it could be the only way to beat him." He said referring to Voldemort, Ginny's eyes began to water.

"Please, you mustn't, Harry."

"It'll be okay Ginny, I promise." He fluidly picked up the vial and pulled the stopper from the top and put it to his mouth. His eyes briefly looking to Aota who had a serious expression on his face, and Ginny who was crying freely now.

"I'll look after you Harry, no matter what."

He tipped the potion into his mouth and swallowed straight away, unlike the potions in the hospital wing, it tasted sweet, he finished the vial and looked to Aota.

"Do you feel anything?"

"No, I feel fine." Harry replied, he could feel the potion settling in his empty stomach he felt Ginny grip his hand tightly.

"But do you feel any different?"

"No, do you think it didn't wor-" Harry lurched forward, gripping his stomach tightly, "It burns!" he said. He could feel it traveling through his body, starting from his toes it was moving steadily up his body, when it passed his stomach he screamed again.

"ARGH! It's... it hurts so much!" He shouted again.

The numbing pain was in his head and he fell from the chair he was in, Ginny shouting his name before kneeling next to him. The last thing he saw was her beautiful face outlined in a frame of shining red hair.

* * *

"Professor! Madame Pomfrey! He's awake!" A deep voice shouted.

* * *

"Quickly! Before he blacks out again!" A different voice this time.

* * *

"Harry stay with us." He knew this voice, even if he couldn't see her it was-

Harry awoke with a start, his eyes taking in his surroundings, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief, he was back in Sirius' old room, his room. He felt an uncomfortable weight on the bed and looked next to him, a bushy haired young witch lay on the bed next to him, he tried to sit up, but his legs wouldn't move, so he gently shook her to get her attention.

"Harry!" She shouted, and surprisingly at least to Harry, carefully pulled him into a hug, "We were all so worried, we didn't know what happened." Harry only nodded into her shoulder, his worry ever increasing about his legs and their inability to move.

After a long time she pulled away from Harry and looked down at him, and he saw her properly for the first time, her eyes had dark circles under them and her cheeks were stained with tears, but she gave him a warm smile.

"I'm going to get the others, their all down at dinner." She rushed from the room leaving Harry to himself, who spent the time she was gone frantically trying to get even his smallest toe to wiggle even the slightest.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright!" Called Mrs. Weasley from the door, Harry smiled back at her and returned the hug, "I couldn't help but think how bad I have been to you over the past two months, and I never got the chance to say how sorry I was." Tears were flowing down her cheeks and Harry nodded in return, she pulled away to let Tonks near him next who patted him on the shoulder enthusiastically. Ginny was behind Tonks and she stepped carefully next to the bed and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You promised it would be alright!" She whispered, her voice cracking. She was biting her lower lip. Harry pulled her onto the bed with him and pulled her into the strongest hug he could, trying to let her know he was alright. He heard two sets of footsteps on the landing on the floor below and looked to the door, Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey entered the room a short time later.

"How do you feel Potter?" Asked Madame Pomfrey, though concern filled her voice, Harry shrugged and looked pointedly at his legs that lay stretched out before him. "Yes, it seems that all that Quidditch you played caused your spine to twist, though not a problem as the potion stopped all neural communication and activity below your waist to correct the problem, and the potion that you took seems to be the most advanced healing potion I've ever seen, you may notice that you're not wearing your glasses?" Harry shook his head, and reached up to the bridge of his now, he could see perfectly without glasses!

"The potion is working its way down your body, fixing every irregularity that you have, every small problem in your body." Harry's hand let go of his hold on Ginny and shot to his scar, he felt the familiar rough scar and looked at Madame Pomfrey accusingly. "Not all, problems then Potter." Harry looked at Dumbledore, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, for an answer.

"I believe it best to just wait this out; we will see what changes have been made when you are fully fit again I suspect by Friday, if the speed of the potion is any indication to go by." Hermione sniffled and Dumbledore definitely noticed. "Come," he said to the adults, "let's let them catch up." Mrs. Weasley gave Harry another hug that encompassed both him and Ginny before leaving.

"You promised you'd be alright." Harry shrugged, but said nothing; he didn't have any reason to say anything at all. He could hear the adults in the kitchen especially Mrs. Weasley who was busily pulling pots and pans out of the cupboards.

"Ginny's told me everything about the Tribe." She said her shoulders were set as though she were about to lecture him, but she didn't and crawled up onto the bed on his other side and cuddled up to him like Ginny had.

"Ron has been awful since I got her yesterday; he hasn't even spoken to me." Said Hermione, Harry pulled her to him. He looked to Ginny with his eyebrows raised.

"He's been horrible to everyone-" Harry shook his head quickly and Ginny didn't finish what she was going to say and he looked pointedly at Hermione.

"Oh!" She said, realization dawning on her of what he meant, "It's the thirty first today, about three weeks since you took the potion, Hermione came as soon as her parents would let her, and she's been worried sick." Harry paled, three weeks was a long time to unconscious, and what was most frustrating to him was that he had taken the potion that would supposedly give him all the answers, yet he felt not different than before. He sighed in exasperation.

"What's the matter?" Asked Hermione from his right. Harry shrugged and gestured around the room, _everything._

"Speak to us Harry, we're here to help you." Harry nodded fervently and pulled them both back to him, trying to reassure them that it was okay, neither was satisfied. Both started trying to get him to talk, but he didn't, he didn't know why he wasn't talking, he just didn't feel like it, eventually he was left in the room by himself.

Neither girl left upset they both let him be, Hermione logically suggesting it was another effect of the potion, after they had left the room Harry tried to get up, trying to force his legs in some way to move, to no avail.

Madame Pomfrey came back into the with Hermione and Ginny sometime later and gave him a potion that would put him to sleep for the night, without it, Harry was sure he would stay up all night.

"Goodnight Harry," Said Ginny, "sleep well." And she left the room. Hermione climbed up onto the bed next to Harry and curled up next to him under the covers, kissing him lightly on the cheek she said.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you this summer Harry." He nodded and pulled her closer to him, she felt cold and he wrapped his other arm around her. "I'm so scared for Ron." She said after a while, though Harry was long asleep.

When Harry awoke he rolled over in bed and put his feet on the ground, he looked down at his naked body and remembered that he had shared the bed with Hermione the night before, he quickly looked around the room for any signs of her, but could find no sign of her at all, he stood up to get dressed and fell flat on his face, yesterday coming back to him.

He pulled himself back onto the bed and tried to stand again, this time managing to balance long enough to stumble towards the dresser which he his with a loud thud, knocking all of it's contents to the floor in a loud bang and sending himself sprawled to the floor in the process. In the house he heard footsteps up the stairs to his room and the door click open.

"Oh! Harry are you okay?" It was Hermione, and luckily Harry had covered himself as best he could. She gripped him strongly on his arm and tried to pull him up.  
  
"Come on, it's nothing I've never seen before." He grinned sheepishly and pulled against her and got to his feet, she put her arm around his back to support him and he threw his arm over her shoulder. She led him over to the chest of drawers and helped him into pants and a shirt.

"Dumbledore will be up soon, he's just checking in on Ginny, she hardly ate a thing when you where under, as the order have come to call it." Harry nodded again and she sat him down on the bed. He heard Ginny and Dumbledore talking in the girls' room, and eventually they started to make their way up to the room, Harry looking to the door before they entered.

"Harry!" Shouted Ginny happy to see him out of bed for the first time, he put his arms out to catch the youngest Weasley and pulled her into a hug before she sat on the bed next to him.

"How are you this morning Harry?" Asked Professor Dumbledore, Hermione knowing his unwillingness to talk answered for him.

"I found him over there by the desk, his legs are a lot better, but he can't support himself on his own." Harry scowled at Hermione. "Well it's true, you couldn't even dress yourself." Ginny giggled.

"Very well, do you notice anything different about yourself Harry? Apart from what Madame Pomfrey told you yesterday." Harry shook his head and Dumbledore conjured a black walking stick and handed it to Harry. "Try walking with this." Harry stood with it and walked, albeit very slowly to the dresser and back smiling at all around triumphantly.

"I will talk with you more at Hogwarts, however I believe it is time for us all to leave, Dobby will bring _all _of your trunks to Hogwarts so no need to worry about them, I suggest you carry your robes to the station with you." Harry looked towards the front door several floors down where the front door had opened and he heard many people enter. "Your escort, Mister Potter." Dumbledore said a smile playing across his face, and for the first time that holidays Harry returned it.


End file.
